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The purpose of this paper is to determine how the presence of cleaning staff affects perceptions and satisfaction of train passengers. Day-time cleaning is becoming increasingly popular in (public) service environments. It is however unknown how the presence of cleaning staff in the service environment affects perceptions and satisfaction of end-users.

Two experimental field studies were performed. Data for the first study were collected on the trajectory between the train station of Assen and the station of Groningen (N = 506) in the northern part of the Netherlands. Data for the second study were collected on the trajectory between train station “Amsterdam Amstel” and train station “Utrecht Centraal” (N = 1,113) in the central part of the Netherlands. In the experimental condition, two cleaners collected waste and performed minor cleaning activities (i.e. empty trash bins, cleaning doors and tables) during the journey. After the first study, cleaners received hospitality training and corporate uniforms.

The presence of cleaning staff positively influenced train passengers’ perceptions and satisfaction. Effects were stronger in the second study, after the second consecutive intervention (i.e. hospitality training, corporate uniforms). In both studies, the presence of cleaners positively influenced passengers’ perceptions of staff, cleanliness and comfort. The perception of atmosphere was only significant after the intervention.

The findings of this study allow in-house and corporate facility managers to better understand the possible effects of the presence of their cleaning staff on end-user perceptions and satisfaction.

The study’s value lies in its human centred approach by demonstrating the importance of day-time cleaning. This area of research has been largely neglected in the field of facilities and (public) services management research.

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic literature review on stimulus, organism and response variables related to actual and perceived cleanliness and develop a conceptual framework to encourage future research on cleanliness.

The PRISMA statement methodology for systematic literature review was applied. After analysing 926 articles, 46 articles were included and reviewed.

Stimulus, organism and response variables related to cleanliness were identified and integrated in a conceptual framework. A distinction was made between articles evaluating the relationship between stimulus and organism variables; stimulus and response variables; and organism and response variables. First, actual cleanliness, staff behaviour, condition of the environment, scent and the appearance of the physical environment were identified as stimuli variables influencing perceived cleanliness and service quality. Second, the presence of litter, behaviour and presence of others, scent, disorder, availability of trash cans and informational strategies were identified as stimuli affecting littering and other kinds of unethical behaviour. Third, the effect of perceived cleanliness (and other organism variables) on satisfaction, approach behaviours, physical activity and pro-social behaviour was registered.

The findings of this review allow in-house and corporate facility managers to better understand and identify most effective interventions positively influencing actual and perceived cleanliness.

No systematic literature review on antecedents and consequences of a clean environment has previously been conducted.

This paper aims to identify antecedents that influence perceived cleanliness by consulting experts and end-users in the field of facilities management (facility service providers, clients of facility service providers and consultants). Business models were evaluated to understand why some antecedents are adopted by practitioners and others are not.

A qualitative study, with end-users (n = 7) and experts (n = 24) in the field of facilities management, was carried out to identify antecedents of perceived cleanliness. Following the Delphi approach, different research methods including interviews, group discussions and surveys were applied.

Actual cleanliness, cleaning staff behaviour and the appearance of the environment were identified as the three main antecedents of perceived cleanliness. Client organisations tend to have a stronger focus on antecedents that are not related to the cleaning process compared to facility service providers.

More (visible) cleaning, maintenance, toilets, scent, architecture and use of materials offer interesting starting points for practitioners to positively influence perceived cleanliness. These antecedents may also be used for the development of a standard for perceived cleanliness.

A basis was created for the development of an instrument that measures perceived cleanliness and includes antecedents that are typically not included in most of the current standards of actual cleanliness (e.g. NEN 2075, ISSA).

The purpose of this research is to add to our understanding of the antecedents of customer satisfaction by examining the effects of service reliability (Is the service “correctly” produced?) and service validity (Is the “correct” service produced?) of search, experience and credence services.

Service validity and service reliability were manipulated in scenarios describing service encounters with different types of services. Customer satisfaction was measured using questionnaires.

Service validity and service reliability independently affect customer satisfaction with search services. For experience services, service validity and service reliability are necessary conditions for customer satisfaction. For credence services, no effects of service validity were found but the effects of service reliability on customers' satisfaction were profound.

Scenarios provided a useful method to investigate customer evaluation of different types of service situations. A limitation of this method was that the participants were not observed in a real service situation but had to give their opinion on hypothetical scenarios.

For search and credence services, it is possible to compensate low service validity by providing a highly reliable service. However, managers of experience services should be aware that little can be gained when either service validity or service reliability is faulty.

The present study provides empirical data on the effects of service reliability and the thus far neglected effects of service validity and integrates these (new) concepts in the model of information verification.

This paper aims to present the results of a study into the relationship between horizontal and vertical communication and professional and organisational identification.

An empirical study was carried out at a large hospital in The Netherlands with multiple locations. Hospital employees (n = 347) completed a written questionnaire.

The results show that although employees identify more strongly with their profession than with their organisation, there is a positive connection between professional and organisational identification. Dimensions of vertical communication are important predictors of organisational identification, whereas dimensions of horizontal communication are important predictors of professional identification.

Identification with the overall organisation does not depend primarily on the quality of contact with immediate colleagues within a work group or department; rather, it depends more on appreciation of the communication from and with the organisation's top management.

Management should find a balance between communication about organisational goals and individual needs, which is crucial in influencing professional and organisational identification.

Previous research has shown a positive link between the communication climate at a specific organisational level and the employee's identification with that level. The current study adds to this concept the influence of horizontal and vertical dimensions of communication on identification among different types of employees.

This paper responds to the call for increased attention to the consumer's point of view in modeling the service exchange. A novel conceptualization of a service product is presented. Further, extending extant research that conceptualizes consumers as “partial employees”, this paper treats consumers as “transient” employees. Next, drawing on the literatures in human resources, specifically Karasek's job demand‐control model, a theoretical model of consumer satisfaction is developed and presented. Attention is also drawn to a typology of services based on the level of consumer participation. Managerial recommendations are developed and presented on the basis of these arguments.

The paper models psychological processes in consumers' evaluation of an exchange and proposes frustration as a mediating mechanism explaining the relationship between consumers' perceptions of control, fairness, and satisfaction.

Data were collected in an experimental setting using video scenarios. Hypotheses were tested using repeated‐measures MANOVA and ANCOVA.

The results support hypotheses predicting that frustration mediates the influence of fairness on satisfaction and supporting a control‐fairness‐frustration‐satisfaction linkage.

This paper extends research in the area of consumers' cognitive and affective service evaluation processes and suggests future theoretical and methodological research directions. Although sample is representative of the population, no claims are made to generalize the findings of the study to a broader population.

Service industry managers should analyze their consumer interaction processes and evaluate whether consumers feel they are in control, or alternatively are being treated fairly, to reduce consumer frustration and dissatisfaction.

Considering consumers as actual creators of service product this study emphasizes the consumer's role in a service product focusing research and managerial attention on the cognitive and affective processes consumer adopt while producing and consuming their desired service.

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the concept of engagement platforms and the theories of co-creation of value to analyze the purchase as a context for customers to co-create their own experiences. Specifically, the paper proposes that including online cues related to Customer to customer (C2C) interactions and coproduction in the engagement platform determines customer co-creation experiences. Moreover, the paper tests for the relationship between the co-creation experience and customer's purchase intentions.

An online platform was designed and a purchase situation was simulated, in which the participants were asked to buy a pair of sneakers. To make the experience more realistic, participants could navigate and undertake activities related to the available cues, thus obtaining a direct experience of the possibilities of the platform. Structural equation modeling analyses were used to test the hypothesized relationships.

The results confirm the importance of including cues related to C2C interactions and coproduction in order to increase co-creation experience possibilities for the customer during the online purchase. Moreover, if customers perceive that they are co-creating the experience, their purchase intentions increase.

This paper addresses the importance of virtual engagement platforms as touch points for interaction and the importance of their characteristics for facilitating co-creation. These platforms provide customers with cues that promote their participation, the establishment of collaborative relationships and the co-creation of the purchase experience.

There is a growing interest in understanding how customers interact with firms to co-create experiences and in the influence of IT-related service in this process. Nevertheless, to date, the online purchase experience as a co-creation context has not been fully investigated.

Purpose – The current exploratory study is an attempt to discover the underlying areas of dissatisfaction associated with the banking experience in the UK, particularly as it relates to the implementation of new service delivery technology in the banking industry. Design/methodology/approach – The data for this study was collected in two stages. In stage one, three focus groups were conducted using bank customers from the southern part of the USA to generate items important to users of financial services in the USA. These items were then considered by a number of bank customers in the UK (Bristol and Bournemouth area) to insure equivalence of constructs and measurements. Stage two involved distributing 300 surveys to a convenience sample of electronic banking customers from the sampling area of interest in the UK. In order to qualify, respondents had to have used one of the available electronic banking services offered by the bank at least once during the previous month. Findings – The importance‐performance grid demonstrates that two of the factors and their underlying attributes fall into the “Keep up the good work” quadrant and the other two factors fall into the “Low priority” quadrant. The first two are areas the organization needs to allocate resources in order to maintain the level of service they provide their clients. From a strategic point of view, this grid provides a tool for strategy development as it gives a clear picture of the factors that are critical for resource allocation. Research limitations/implications – The primary limitation of this study is the scope and size of its sample. Nonetheless, the study does provide evidence for the development and use of the I‐P grid for preliminary identification and assessment of customer measures of service quality. Originality/value – By demonstrating the feasibility of the approach taken by the study, it should be possible for financial institutions to utilize similar procedures when evaluating the overall satisfaction levels of their customers’ banking experience. It also allows service providers to consider the changing needs and wants of customers’ in the financial sector.